The Wastes of Hell Within
by Terrarian Creeper
Summary: The world is at war. The forces of the Holy Creator, fighting endlessly against the wretched Fallen Angel, Herobrine. My take on Herobrine's fall from grace and revenge on the world, along with how Minecraftia's mobs came to be and how the dimensions were formed. Rated T for swearing, blood, and gore. Ties in with my other fic, Retribution: Angelic Justice. On hiatus.
1. Betrayal Between Souls

**Hey, guys! Terrarian Creeper here! This is just a small side story that is canon with my main story, Retribution: Angelic Justice.  
**

**It's the story of Herobrine's rebellion against Notch, what caused it, and how it ended. It's fairly spoiler-ish. Even so, just enjoy the fic as I work on this and Retribution! Note that this will be much shorter.  
**

**Please R&R, and enjoy the fic!**

**Theme Song for The Wastes of Hell Within:**

**/watch?v=u1fedqfAWhI**

**It's a good song, and rather fits well with the fic.**

**XXX**

"Brother…"

"Yes, Herobrine?"

"Why do your creations fear me?"

"…"

Notch said nothing as he and Herobrine walked down the fluffy white clouds. In their own little pocket dimension, the great and mighty First Sanctum, they had formed Minecraftia and the Second Sanctum. Herobrine had formed their beauteous landscapes, and Notch had spread life throughout it all. Now, as they watched over the worlds, Herobrine could not help but ask the question that was bothering him so.

Herobrine had always been the quieter one of the two. He'd always been content to work from the shadows; his satisfaction came from his work. Notch, on the other hand, was much more outgoing and popular with the ones he had created.

"Brother?" asked Herobrine again as he ran a gentle, pale finger along a glass ball about twice the size of a dodgeball. Between the two glass orbs, the two brothers could see into the worlds they had created easily. Herobrine watched as the tiny humans continued to build their tiny villages and bring in tiny villagers – Herobrine's affectionate creations. "Brother, are you listening?"

"Oh!" Notch gave a start as he brought his eyes to bear on his younger brother. "Apologies, Herobrine. I was thinking."

"About what?"

"We have humans, villagers, farm animals, but could we not add more?"

"Do you remember my Creeper project?" Herobrine had taken one of Notch's abandoned 'frames' of animals – in this case a pig – and brought it to exciting life as a green mottled four-legged animal. From the few experiments he'd done, humans seemed to have an urge to hug the cheery-faced creatures. Naturally, Notch told him to withdraw his Creepers – their composition was too volatile, he said.

"We've talked about this – no," said Notch. Herobrine frowned, deep brown eyes showing his displeasure. Really, couldn't at least _one_ of his creatures be accepted? Tall purple-eyed men formed from shadows, four-legged Creepers, flying cuboidal jellyfish with tentacles, flame-based automatons, and not one was allowed into the world by Notch.

"I believe there was something else you wanted to talk about?" Notch's words brought Herobrine back to the Sanctum. "Namely, why the humans fear you."

"Y-yes!" Herobrine said eagerly. He was really itching to know the answer. "Why, brother? We've worked so hard to bring them into existence, to give them this beautiful world –" he gestured towards the glass ball that held Minecraftia "– and yet they only worship you! Whenever you step down from our Sanctum, they always run out and bow down before you, showering you with their fruits of labour. But whenever I just try to see how they have been progressing, they run from me, insult me and tell tales of a monster that takes children from their bed! Why?"

Herobrine belatedly realized he had almost been shouting. He murmured his apologies, but Notch did not notice. "I thought you worked for the joy of creation. I did not believe you were one to parade his power around."

Herobrine gaped at his brother wordlessly, too shocked to come up an adequate response. "I-I-I don't! But, brother, only two days ago, I went to the village of Steve, and they pelted me with rocks! _Pelted me with rocks!_ I'm not obsessed with fame! Have you lost your mind, brother!?"

"Don't take up that tone with me," said Notch as he turned to stare Herobrine in the eye. "You're changing, brother. You're not the brother I brought with me to help create a new world - I can't let you keep working on this! You'll turn this world into hell, like you did all those years ago in our home dimension! If you fight me like this, you – gah!"

Herobrine lowered his hand, shaking. He looked at the mark on his brother's cheek, and realized exactly what he'd just done. "Shit, no! Brother, I –"

_Smack!_

The younger brother stumbled back, an equal mark on his face to match his brother's as he rose. "Herobrine, you cannot help me any longer. Leave _now._" A shining sky-blue portal formed behind him as he stepped towards Herobrine. "Come, you must go."

"Brother, I'm not leaving!" protested Herobrine as he backed away. He fought down his fear and anger as he continued. "W-we worked so hard on this! I can't leave behind so many years of work! This world is our new beginning! A new chance! And you're saying I should just up and walk out on it!?"

Notch felt a single tear escape the cusp of his eye, before it hardened into a look of resolute determination. He could see what his brother could not; if this continued any further, than it… It would…

Herobrine's eyes widened as a hand seized him by the collar and, with a strength that well belied its owner's frame, flung him towards the portal. With just enough cohesive wit, he rolled, coming to a stop just before falling through. He heard his brother's voice yet again. "You are not meant to be in this world any longer. Now that it has come to this, I will not hold back.

"This is your last chance."

Herobrine got up slowly, anger rising from a simmer to a boiling rage. His hands sparked, then combusted, coated in mythical purple flames. His eyes rose to the figure he had once respected, once idolized. Now, however, he felt nothing but pure hatred as a black whisper crept through his mind, wrapping around it and murmuring sweet emptiness into his ear. "Markus Perrson…"

Notch started at the use of his full name, and dropped into a combat pose. For his quiet, timid brother to use such a term…

Herobrine's bangs fell forward, brown hair masking his eyes. When he looked up, his eyes demented, pupils and irises twisting and deforming into a pure white, which rapidly turned to a furious blood red.

"Herobrine," Notch murmured. "No…"

Herobrine rose to his full height, back arching as he gazed upon his older brother in a look of sheer insanity. A jagged smile widened on his face, as if it were being split in two as the mad grin extended and opened, black steam gushing from between his jaws.

"Well, Markus…" he hissed.

"To hell with you."


	2. A Twisted Heart

**Nothing to say here, just R&R, please!**

**XXX**

The world exploded, the porcelain tiles of the floor tearing up and away as Herobrine flung out his arms in a savage manner, the ground itself peeling back as purple fire leapt up, greedily devouring everything in its path. Notch watched as the flames stopped within a meter of him, forming a perfect circle as ice-cold winds began to blow through the First Sanctum.

"No!" Notch cried as he flung out a hand. Golden flames formed from under his feet and shot out, clashing with purple as they fought for control of the dimension. "Herobrine, stop this!"

Herobrine's manic grin simply opened as he tilted his head back, letting blue-black flames pour out. His hands ignited with that same black fire. Purple flames took on the shape of agonized figures, writhing in the flames and turning to smoke as they were replaced by another tortured image.

"This is…" Notch rolled to the side as a jet of purple fire burned a steaming hole into where he was standing moments earlier. "_Herobrine!_ Where did you learn this!?"

"Hee hee hee…" Herobrine giggled madly as he lowered his steaming hand. "The world holds no secrets to me, you know!" Raising his burning hand again, he traced the figure of a five-pointed star with one hand, and a circle around it with the other. "_Hellfire,_ brother."

"Not good," growled Notch. The pentagram flung itself forward as Notch raised a glowing gold fist and _punched_ through it, black fire dissipating before his holy might. "Looks like I'll have to use it after all…"

Herobrine stopped laughing as he vaguely saw golden energy cascading around Notch's outstretched hand, forming a long spear of raw power that broke open to reveal Notch's most powerful trump card; a sword of the gods themselves, with such power that nothing could withstand its strike. It was an alloy made of gold, obsidian, and diamond that was incredibly sharp and unbreakable. Imbued with Notch's might, the blade glowed with a glorious light, and the hilt was melded in the shape of an angel's wings spread wide.

"Damn, the Lichtigheid!?" Herobrine stumbled back a few steps, recognizing the unmistakable glow of the holy weapon even through his red-tinged vision. "You really intend to use that _here_?"

"It is the sword that defends this world," murmured Notch as he raised it above his head, flames licking his feet. Neon blue lines of energy raced up from the hilt, etching themselves across the brightly glowing blade in an intricate, precise dance. "It is that which will purge all evil."

With that, the sword flashed down –

– and was quickly arrested by Herobrine's hands, which had clamped down on it from either side. Black flames fought gold, locking themselves in a stalemate from which neither side could withdraw from. Blood evaporated from Herobrine's hands as the blade continued to struggle against his burning hands.

_"So, Markus, do you really believe you can defeat me!?"_ hissed Herobrine as his eyes shone an even brighter white. Fire exploded forth from his hands, wrapping about the Lichtigheid and wresting it from his brother's hands. _"FALL!"_

Notch ducked the first swipe of the holy artifact and lunged to the side to avoid the second. Herobrine's strikes were sloppy, but powerful. He'd have to end this quickly, or…

_"Die, Markus!"_ The Lichtigheid's glow turned _black_ as it tore a swath of destruction through the ground as Herobrine dragged it towards Notch, who raised his arms to block the strike. The holy sword clashed against his crossed arms grated across their surface, throwing Herobrine off-balance as his ill-fated killing blow failed. Uncrossing his arms, Notch reached back, hand clenching into a fist…

… and throwing Herobrine to the flaming ground with a single strike.

The Lichtigheid clattered to the burning floor, where it was carefully picked up by Notch as he watched his brother struggle to his feet. Herobrine fixed him with a look of pure fury and hatred as his hands ignited once again. He seethed, _"Damn… you…"_

"Is this what you worked so tirelessly for?" questioned Notch sadly. "Did you come this far with me, only to be consumed by this madness?"

_"Shut up,"_ snarled Herobrine as he took one shaking step forward, then another, and another. _"Shut up, shut up, shut up, SHUT UP, **SHUT UP!"**_

Notch winced as Herobrine's burning fist streaked past his side, burning a scar into it as Herobrine rolled to a stop, screaming and yelling. _"I hate you, Markus! I hate you and everything you've ever stood for! Fucking **DIE ALREADY!"**_

"Words fail me," said Notch. "I can only give you peace in death now, Herobrine."

Herobrine's rage built with each word said, until he finally snapped. Blue-black fire poured out from under his feet, drenching _everything_ with its fury as the same fire ignited in Herobrine's eyes. His clenched fists opened, letting out an condensed explosion of energy as Herobrine began to move again.

Notch watched as Herobrine lunged for him, hands reaching out to burn his face to a bubbling mass of flesh –

– Herobrine's eyes widened as he felt something pierce his chest, shredding his internal organs as it exploded out the other side. Blood – _black_ blood dripped from the blade, burning off in the incredible heat. Herobrine stared at the ground in shock, then up at his cold-faced brother. Notch's face softened as he said softly, "I'm sorry, brother…"

The Lichtigheid was pulled forcefully out of Herobrine, bringing with it another spew of black blood. Notch twirled it in one hand as he took one long step forward, slamming the holy artifact down.

Black blood erupted from Herobrine's severed neck as the body fell, slowly being eaten up by the purple fire he had left behind. Herobrine's face, twisted into a permanent expression of fear, rolled to a stop at Notch's feet. He gently knelt and closed his brother's eyes, feeling tears begin to build up.

Alone in the First Sanctum, Notch cried.


	3. Falling from Heaven

Steve was chopping down another tree in the vast forest next to his village. Sure, he was the first human, but he was modest, he didn't make a big deal out of it. Another chunk came out of the tree as the almost always silent human took his thoughts back to what had transpired two months ago. Certainly, many did not like the younger brother of Notch, but Steve knew that their beautiful world was formed by Herobrine, and so respected him greatly.

Of course, the members of his village thought otherwise. They feared the one who looked so much like Steve, told revolting stories of the crimes he would commit, but really…

Pelting him with rocks on his annual visit to the town?

That's just cruel and unusual.

_Crash!_

Steve narrowly avoided the tree as it finally gave way to gravity, smashing into the ground. He smiled as he saw a few apples among its fell leaves, which he gladly picked. The man finished slicing the wood into manageable pieces and stored them in his brown leather knapsack. But as he turned to leave, a rattling, hissing sound met his ears. He turned around again to come face to face with one of Herobrine's earliest creations.

Namely, it was green, with four stubby legs, and had a blank expression of idle happiness. Steve smiled at the affectionate creature, but kept some distance. Yes, these – Creepers, was it? – were certainly friendly, but from what he'd heard about the few times they'd appeared, they were extremely volatile and tended to self-destruct for one reason or another. Nonetheless, Steve reached out cautiously and patted the slightly shorter creature on the head, hearing its happy hisses. But then, something caught his eye.

A wisp of black lightning crackling silently, curling out of sight behind the Creeper's back.

The four-legged mob's face twisted into an expression of pain, turning its happy smile into a mad grimace. Its eyes rolled back into its head and turned black, as if they were merely empty sockets. Black smoke frothed from its mouth as Steve backed away, drawing his diamond sword he'd spent so long sharpening. The monster approached, hissing and growling. It began to flash white and expand as its sulphurous components began to react, organs melting as it heated up. Steve rolled behind a nearby tree –

_Boom!_

Shockwaves of energy rolled past, striking Steve even from behind the thick trunk of his hasty shelter. Peeking out cautiously, he saw that the Creeper had completely dissolved, its body having undergone a chemical reaction that turned it to gunpowder. But in the middle of the crater it had formed, a black orb of energy floated.

This was new. Steve had never seen such a thing before. It was slightly larger than an apple, with curls of purple lightning running back and forth across its surface. The whole thing exuded an aura of torment and hatred. Then, it slowly, inexorably, began to move.

Steve sheathed his sword and drew his bow, firing a shot into the mass. It rippled as the arrow entered it, then passed through it, the orb shifting to cover the hole the arrow had left.

He dropped the bow in shock, and ran.

Within the confines of his personal cast of twisted black magic, Herobrine seethed. Having shielded himself from dissipating with a shell formed from the shadows, this emergency form was very rudimentary and had minimal use. Of course, it did have a few benefits, one of which was channeling Herobrine's natural talent for magic quite easily.

In his slowly decaying mind, there was a strange happiness. The less wild of the two holy brothers, Herobrine had always kept to himself, ignoring the few who praised his name and even remaining fairly secluded from his brother. But now, the darkness had sealed his eyes shut in one way, but opened them in quite another. Without his standard shyness to hold him back, he could _live._ He could do whatever he wanted, wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted. All thanks to his newfound… 'partner'?

Was that really a voice speaking to him?

Yes, it certainly was. His body – or at least, what was left of it – seemed to be host to more than one personality. Granted, his assistant never tried to take over his body, instead preferring to remain in the back of Herobrine's mind. Every once in a while, he'd speak up, offering advice or pointing out a new, so-called _forbidden_ technique.

Was he insane, or at least mostly on the way? Probably.

A twinge of soul recognition alerted him back to his surroundings. Someone was coming. Herobrine would have much rather preferred to simply overtake Steve's body and leave it at that. Hopefully, no one would notice, but he'd have to move quickly to avoid being seen by these newcomers.

His form dissolved into black smoke and shot off into the sky, a comet of black light tainting the pure blue as it flew.

**XXX**

No more than two minutes after Herobrine's presence exited the area, three humans stepped into the clearing. Each was armed with one thing or another.

The one at the head of their pack was clearly the leader; his hair was unkempt and messy, sticking up wildly in black spikes. His light brown eyes glinted with wild fervour, and he wore a solid diamond chestplate coated in sharp spikes and set of leggings. Sheathed at both sides of his hips were two identical swords, both gleaming with a similar purple light. That on his left side was battle-worn and frequently maintained; it had clearly seen many a battle and survived. Carved along the blade's edge were arcane runes, which gave it vastly enhanced sharpness. His right sword was not improved so, but instead struck with increased might to bat aside his enemies and was granted the power to discharge flames.

On his right side was his close friend, whose brown hair poked out just beneath his iron helmet. Iron actually completely covered this man's body, leaving little more than his green eyes visible, which were even then concealed behind a visor. His hands were covered by iron gauntlets, and he leaned on his iron pickaxe as he surveyed the wrecked clearing. The pickaxe was nigh-unbreakable, making it surprisingly useful in a fight, though it still took skill to use such a strangely designed tool as a weapon.

The last member of their small party was on the leader's left, and was actually a girl with dark blonde hair that fell to just below her shoulders from under her green-brown hat. She was dressed somewhat lightly in just a carefully-painted leather tunic that blended in with the forestry over her regular clothes, though those were also camouflaged. A flexible wooden bow was strapped to her back with green leather. Strangely, it had the capacity to multiply one arrow into countless arrows that disintegrated on impact.

The girl flicked aside a bang that was hanging somewhat low and then addressed the leader. "Hey, Lloyd."

"What is it, girl?" Lloyd Ferrato said in a clipped tone. "We need to get moving to the village of Steve, it's way over the mountain and we need to get there by sundown."

"I have a name," she huffed. "It's Alice Wisbrin. Did you already forget it?"

Lloyd remained silent as he continued walking. Alice sighed. "You _actually_ forgot it? God, you practically don't remember anything besides surviving, cooking, and killing things."

"That's all you need out of life," he grumped. "Now, get moving. There's a storm brewing down in the Village, and rumours are that war's gonna break out soon. If that's happening, I want in."

"Always the one to obsess over war, aren't you?" snarked their mostly silent companion.

"Ah, shut up…" trailed off Lloyd.

"It's Marcus," the iron-clad man groaned. They really had to teach their companion how to remember things that didn't relate to just war. "Marcus Selcer. Anyways, we should hold up here for a second."

"What is it now?" said Lloyd irritably as he turned around, chestplate rustling as he moved. Both his partners backed away from the pointy edges that bristled menacingly on his chestplate. "This had better be important."

"Look up," Marcus said. Lloyd and Alice obliged, starting as they noticed the black meteor trailing across the sky.

"What in the world is that thing?" asked Lloyd.

"I can feel the aura coming off it, even from this distance," Alice muttered. "Evil… that thing's practically pure evil in a ball."

Lloyd snorted. "Yeah, sure. While we're at it, why not say it's also the legendary brother of the Holy Creator who's been possessed by a malevolent spirit that got him kicked out of heaven, killed, and is now in some sort of – of demon soul storage?"

"If you can't run it through with a sword, you don't care about it at all, do you?" said Alice as she shook her head despondently. "Really, though. That thing is seriously giving me creeps."

"Whatever," Lloyd said roughly. "Now, we need to get to the village, and if you guys slow me down any more, I'll gut you and leave the corpse by the road, got it?"

"Alright," sulked Marcus. But he and Alice exchanged knowing glances as they trudged off down the road – for all his posturing and threats, Lloyd actually wasn't that bad, and never went through with his threats – not entirely, at least. Odds were they'd both still get a solid cuff for slowing down, so they picked up the pace, trailing rapidly after the jogging war veteran.

"Hey, slow down!" called Alice as they ran.

"Neither of you understand how hard it is to sprint in this," gasped Marcus.


End file.
